Today was one filled with copious amounts of laundry, unpacking and repacking because I spent the last few days in the bush camping... hence I did not post over the weekend. There was literally NO signal where we were so I could do nothing! Below is a snap shot of where we were - details of which, I will save for another day... perhaps tomorrow, when my life regains more sanity.
So, after a pretty hectic day and not enough hours in it, I was looking for something simple to make for dinner. I also noticed that my dad had a LOT of eggs in the fridge... lol - not sure why, I mean I know he loves his eggs but this was excessive!! I thought, ok... what can I make for dinner using egg...... quiche came to mind.
I was looking for a crust-less quiche. Well, no - that is not entirely true, I was just too lazy to make the dough as well, haha!! Anyhooo... in my quest to find a crust-less quiche, I stumbled upon a video from Jamie Oliver. There were a couple of others I was considering trying, but considering that I was not up for a whole lot of failure and compensation pizza at the end of it all - I decided to go with Jamie's recipe - with my own twist... as I do.
It was SUCH a simple recipe and I will definitely make it again because it was SUPER tasty! I will also make it without the pastry addition next time (as decadent and pretty as that was) - it really just made the "eating experience" a little messy. Jamie's version was a LOT simpler, but I am VERY happy with how my own turned out.
What you will need
10 eggs
2 packs of diced bacon
one pack of phyllo pastry (optional)
1 decent sized courgette or a few small baby marrows
a pack of spring onions
mozarella cheese
a few large tomatoes
fresh basil leaves
One head of broccoli
a handful of baby spinach leaves
A cup of grated white cheddar
One round of feta cheese
Two teaspoons of butter
First thing I did, was fry up the bacon bits until they were beautifully golden and crispy. Once done, I put then in a sieve over a bowl, allowing the excess oil to drip off before I added them to the main bowl of ingredients.
Here comes the "simple"! - pretty much everything else is grated... so I grated the five baby marrows and added to that a couple of yellow patty pans (the shop did not have enough marrows). I then grated the broccoli from the stem upward. Not only does this prevent wasting the stem which is equally as tasty as well as nutritious, but as you grate, the fleurettes fall off as you grate! - Thanks Jamie... epic logic right there haha!
Yip... more grating! About a handful of white cheddar. It was not on the original recipe - much like a few other things in my version (like the bacon lol) - but I added two teaspoons of fine parmesan to the "cheese" mix. Can't go wrong with a little parmesan. I saved a little bit of the cheddar to top the bake as well... fyi :)
Grating over and time for a little bit of "chop chop chop". I diced a pack of spring onions and about a handful of baby spinach. Yes, you can use traditional onion - in fact most quiches do, but spring onions or "salad onions" as many know them - are a LOT milder and are more palatable to those who are not onion fans, myself NOT included! I love onions!!!
Essentially, you take ALL that good stuff and throw it into a bowl together. The only addition I made was about two teaspoons of melted butter. Get your hands nice and messy and mix it ALL up!!!! Oh, but don't forget to give a sprinkling of salt and a NICE grinding of cracked pepper! Be careful not to add too much salt though, because the bacon is pretty salty and will take care of that all on it's own!
Time for the pastry! HA! This was the fun part for me... because I was a lazy arse! I have worked with phyllo pastry a few times before and it is always great fun, because you can do SO many things with it! I suppose that was one of the reasons this recipe appealed to me so much. At the end of the day, it looks SO beautiful yet serves absolutely NO other purpose than it's "crunch and crackle" factors haha... but that alone is worth it!
One thing about working with phyllo pastry is that you MUST keep it moist. It comes frozen in rolled sheets which are paper thin, and the second they dry out too much, they begin to crack. This is something that can stress a person out a little... but a clean and VERY damp dish towel will quickly resolve that problem - as will a spray bottle of water.
As Jamie had presented a rough prep of the phyllo, I followed suit. I grabbed multiple sheets at a time and simply dropped them into the oiled baking tray. I then filled that with all the nomness which was mixed in the bowl - took a spoon and applied some pressure to compress it all.
I then took the edges of the phyllo and folded them inward in a VERY haphazard manner. Added the last of the grated cheese on top and then - save the best for last, a sprinkling of feta cheese.
That done, I shoved it RIGHT at the bottom of the oven at 180 degrees Celsius for just over an hour. I made ingredient additions to the recipe I saw from Jamie, so I had to account for that in the cooking time. I was a little nervous about it to be honest, but my judgement worked out to be spot on!
Whilst that was baking, I prepped the salad side. I decided to opt for a "mini version" of a Caprese salad - which is essentially sliced tomato, sliced mozzarella, basil leaves, balsamic vinegar glaze and a little olive oil. The only thing I did differently in this case, was I used "smoked mozzarella and I diced the basil leaves instead of leaving them whole in between the cheese slices and the tomatoes.
I knew the phyllo pastry was going to render a pretty "wild" look at the end of the day, so I opted for a straight line for the Caprese salad, even though I put it on a round plate... (not many options for plate here at my dad's hahaha!!) I love prepping food, but was not about to purchase a rectangular plate for one meal haha!
Salad side done, it was time to take the quiche out of the oven. I have to say, I was a little nervous about this dish in general... but as I pulled it from the oven and saw the deliciousness, I was like mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!!!!! haha!It looked AMAZING!!!! I have a "go to" question when I cook for other people, to avoid dishonest pleasantries and that is "should I make it again?!" haha!! I go a full round of YES tonight... and I enjoyed it greatly myself, so - thanks Jamie!
For the record... my additions to his version were: Bacon, spinach, two teaspoons of melted butter, potato spice, vegetable spice & feta.
❤ Bon Appetit Peeps ❤
❤❤❤
Until next time...
Much Love from Cape Town, South Africa xxx
Jaynielea
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Yummi
It was! Thank you darling!
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Awesome! Thanks @taco.cat and @foodiesunite
Thanks God there's someone that adore broccoli too! My grandpa has his own garden with a lot of vegetables. I can't describe how good domestic one is.
Your quiche looks delicious! That combination of onions, cheese, butter, bacon, eggs and stuff make me hungry as hell. Bon appetit!
Home grown good are ALWAYS best and although the broccoli I used was not home grown... I still have to say, broccoli is awesome! Although, admittedly... I prefer the young stems to the large fleurettes. Thanks for the lovely compliment - it was a good meal!
It doesn't matter too much as long it's healthy (not always necessary) and delicious. Following you for more tasteful posts like this one. Cheers!
Too true!
And thanks for the compliment and the follow :)
And indeed it would be should I be consuming Jaynie-food!
I already knew your cooking skills were legit but when I saw that sprinkling of cheese on the filo-crust I'm like, yip, girls got class that can't be bought. One has it or one does not have it...You have it. Cheese on crust? Come on, that's legit right?
Speaking of having...I didn't have an invitation for quiche-legit and that makes me sad considering it looks so good...Maybe next time. I could make it myself of course, but where's the fun in that? Everything tastes better when made by someone else! Although, my fish fingers on toast drizzled, yes drizzled, with tomato sauce (ketchup) was pretty legit. I know...probably not legit, but I've had worse.
The next time I see Jamie I'll tell him you out-did him with this one, added some Jaynieness and put him to shame.
HAHAHAHA!!! That was just mess! Classy mess apparently lol!
Definitely next time gadget!
Cannot argue that!
My son Jude would argue with you on that one! He has his fish fingers with Chutney. Oh wait... you don't get that Saffer awesomeness over there do you? :D
Lol, thanks for the compliment... although I am certain his was waaay better...although, he didn't have bacon... so maybe not :D
We have chutney here you know Saffer! 🤣
Actually, I never thought of putting chutney on my fish fingers...that little tacker of yours clearly is an innovator and fish-fingers at ninja level.
Trying it!
If it aint Mrs. Balls - it aint chutney!
Yeah Jude has some interesting flavour combo choices lol.
A good thing we have it here then.
Didn't expect that did you now Saffer girl!
I am just really relieved for you lot... :D
Idiot.
Another great recipe from you, you surely grated so much stuff, your fingers must have hurt lol. The plating is so cute, your additional touch to the recipe is great, congrats for putting on the table another great meal Jaynie!
!ENGAGE 10
Aaah Thank you lovely lady! Actually, the grating barely took 5 minutes - All relatively soft ingredients haha! Thanks for stopping by hon, much appreciated!
ENGAGEtokens.Yum!!!
Do you have leftovers?